I Won Something!

This is fairly rare for me, so please forgive any overexcitement ;) The last thing I won was when I was a kid and although it was a damn good prize (a computer), it was arguably my mum who won it but put my name on the entry form *smiles fondly*

So, I won something, and even better, it's yarn! A skein of Brookly Tweed Shelter, to be precise. Thanks to a great giveaway on Mighty Distractible, from the very lovely Alex and Cassandra (who found it funny that they were posting 100% American wool to a country with as much wool as the UK... I see their point!)

It is absolutely lovely (and, in what will sound weird to most people but I figure knitters will get it, it smells really good!). It's springy and soft, but also rustic and sheepy-feeling, if that makes any sense at all!

Boyfriend was a little taken aback by the texture when I handed it to him, but then he's used to me handing him silk blends to smoosh. Once I explained that it's a very different type of wool, with its own style and benefits, he got it ;) He did look at me strangely when I told him to smell it though!

In my parcel was a lovely card, and a bonus gift of this cool postcard (from Chicago I believe) *laughs*

So now I have to decide what to make with the yarn... Tough choice. From reviews I've read, people recommend something with cables, as apparently the yarn really makes them pop. I don't wear hats often, and I don't want to waste the yarn on something I won't be able to show off much, so I came up with a couple of other options...

I'm torn between these mitts:

© MissBecca

And this bag, that is really pretty and I think would work well (especially when lined with something to bring out the colour of the yarn)

© Jennifer Jones

I'm itching to cast this on, and I think I'm leaning towards the bag, but first I need to make better progress on my current WIPs.... But knowing me, this may end up on the needles sooner than planned ;)

WIP Wednesday

I really enjoyed participating in my last Work In Progress Wednesday, so I thought it would be a good plan to continue :)

My mermaid scarf has stalled dramatically *sigh* I made a mistake about 6 or 7 rows back and it has completely thrown off the pattern. Unfortunately, this pattern is also really hard to frog, especially with such slippery yarn as pure silk, so this is waiting for me to take the time (and have the patience!) to do it properly.

Here's where I am so far, about twice as long as it was last time... (I didn't take the time to get a good picture as I'm sulking with it at the moment *wry smle*)

My cotton top is making (slow) progress. I haven't given it the attention it needs, so it doesn't look like I've got much further than the last picture I posted of it. I have though. Honest ;) I've done two of the rib sections in the centre panel since then.

I'm using stitch markers to keep track of where the central ribs start, which isn't mentioned at all in the pattern but it seemed like it would be easier than having to count each time!

And finally, the reason nothing else has had much of my attention...

My second sock! I can't wait for this to be finished so that I will have my pair and can start wearing them immediately *laughs* In fact, it's a struggle not to put the other one on my foot by itself, but I'm being very restrained! I am taking it a bit easier on this sock, I made the last one so quickly that I had a sore wrist for about 4 days afterwards, so I'm pacing myself a bit more this time ;)

Anyway, that's where my current projects are; to see more WIPW posts, head over to Tami's blog :)

And stay tuned tomorrow, for I have exciting new yarn to share ;)

Sock It To Me

Ok, so even though I haven't quite finished my second sock (I've finished the gusset, so just the foot and toe to do...) I have become somewhat addicted *laughs* I should have guessed this would happen.

Being that I don't really do things by halves, I thought I ought to dive in and get myself some more sock yarn pronto. Thanks to very fortuitous delivery timings, my parcel arrived last night at exactly the right moment to cheer me up after a trip to the dentist ;)

Zauberball *grins* I love the name, I love the colours and I love that the ball looks so much more fun than a lot of ready-balled yarns.

Of course, when I was adding it to my stash page on Ravelry, I discovered that I do already have another ball of sock yarn that I'd totally forgotten about:

Hmmmm, bit of an orange theme going on. How surprising *chuckles* I shall have to have happy orange feet. Now, I feel like I should perhaps not buy any more sock yarn until Knit Nation in July... But really, given I have this new obsession, how likely do you think that is?!

B is for....

Last week I was so excited to post my very first sock on Monday that I completely forgot I was planning to participate in the ABC challenge, with a post every Monday through the alphabet. So, here I am this week, sorry for being late to the party everyone, but I brought snacks ;)

B is for.... I was going to do "blogging", but I noticed that a couple of other people have done that and I don't really have a lot to say that hasn't already been covered ;)

So, what should my "B" be for?

Bags.

I love bags. I am a handbag fiend *cheeky grin* In fact, I was just trying to remember how many I have:

• Black Radley work bag 
• Black Radley handbag
• Brown Radley bag
• Taupe Radley (sensing a brand theme here?! *laughs*)
• Red bowling bag
• Teal bowling bag
• Greenish shoulder bag
• Little white bag with a strawberry on
• Little blue canvas shoulder bag
• Marvin the Martian messenger bag
• Leather A4 sized rust coloured bag with circles on
• Cream, black and gold clutch
• Tiny black evening bag
• Large pink fake Mulberry style
• Blue patterned overnight bag

So, I have a fair few bags, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few! (what can I say, I like to coordinate with my outfit ;) )

But, and this is a big but... I don't have a knitting bag.

I have a little make-up bag that carries my DPNs, darning needle, stitch markers, scissors etc, but no project bags. I just haven't found the right one yet. I'm not a huge fan of tote bags, and I don't know what else to look for. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!

I think the problem is that I haven't found a knitting bag that I would use regardless of whether it had my knitting in or not, and that's kinda what I want. Maybe what I'm looking for is a handbag big enough to also have a (small) knitting project in... 

To avoid a pictureless post (because I don't like posting without any pictures), this is what my Marvin the Martian bag looks like... It would be great if it actually had some compartments, but it takes forever to find anything in...

Genius!

Ah, finally, blogger is working again. I wanted to post something and have been refreshing the page all day just to get on here. Now that I have, I feel like my post should really be much better than it is, but hey ;)

So, after a hectic week with no knitting at all *shock* I did a few rows of my cotton top last night. I've finished the horizontal rib section at the bottom and have moved onto needles that are 0.5mm larger for the next piece. So much better! The 2.25mm were really killing my poor fingers.

Progress is not looking like much since the last time I posted a picture, but here it is anyway...

I'm pleased with the fact that I now have a better idea of how the fabric is going to come out, it's a lot softer and drapier (is that a word?!) than it started off. In fact, the yarn in the ball feels really hard and not nice at all, so it's a relief to know it won't be like that against my skin!

So, why is this post titled "genius!"...?

Well, remember the cookbook stand I bought over Easter *pauses for nods* I have repurposed it to hold my knitting book:

I am a very tidy person when it comes to books, I never crack the spines or fold down corners. This book kept insisting on closing itself while it was propped up on my sofa next to me, making it a lot harder to keep track of where I was. This stand now means it is upright in front of me, kept neat and tidy and always on the right page *grins*

Ok, so if this is what I consider genius, and I am actually quite chuffed with it, I may need to get out a bit more *laughs* Until then, I shall knit away with my new pattern holding apparatus ;)

Boring

Thanks to a lot of work related stuff taking over at the moment, I have no craft news to post about :(

I haven't managed to get any knitting done since Sunday, which feels a little strange actually. Having said that, my frantic sock finishing during the whole of the day did leave my wrist feeling somewhat tender, so a break is probably a very good thing *grudging smile*

Part of the work stuff I've been focused on this week included a big meeting yesterday. I wore my hooded cardigan and got a lot of impressed noises when I told people I'd made it myself. I did have to bask in the glow a little, especially when I pointed out the short amount of time I've been knitting *tries to rein in the smug pridefulness, lest I get kicked in the butt by my next project!*

Anyway, I hope to have interesting, inspiring or at the very least, colourful posts soon... Honest ;)

Wonderous Sock of Joy!

I made a sock!!!

I've been meaning to knit socks for ages and have kept chickening out ;) I was a little daunted at first, but following the excellent Silver's Sock Class, I got through it... One stitch at a time.

I decided to knit the ribbing flat, and then join to knit in the round, mainly because I hated doing ribbing on DPNs when I made my mitts. I figured if I skipped that part, then I'd actually get on and do it.

The reason I started on Friday was because my current WIPs require me to pay some attention, so I figured something that was just knit stitches (well, until the heel) would be an excellent mindless project for in front of the TV... Of course, I got hooked and ended up spending Saturday evening and most of Sunday finishing it *laughs*

It's wonky, with some fairly crappy patches, and the first two stitches of my grafted toe look pretty rough, but I made it and I love it *huge, proud grin*

Hey look, it fits!

Now I just need to make another one... ;)